Everything Unsaid
by asomyrcal
Summary: Complete: Oneshot - Between them, sometimes they just did not need words.


**Title**: Everything Unsaid  
**Fandom**: Code Geass  
**Pairing**: Implied Guilford x Cornelia  
**Warning**: Spoilers for Code Geass Season 1, more or less.  
**Synopsis**: Between them, sometimes they just did not need words.

Sunlight assaulted his vision as the tall, slim man opened his eyes, prompting him to raise a bandaged hand against the evening rays. Shifting slightly, Gilbert turned on his side, shying away from the bright glare, only to let out a yelp of pain as the sudden pressure on his healing wound reopened the injury, the bandages instantly dyed crimson.

Gilbert bit his lip, gingerly pressing a hand against bloodied bandages and tender skin, wincing as he slowly sat up. His memory of the previous day's events were hazy, most of it existing as a haze of gunfire and acrid smoke and screams. Stumbling through the maze-like building, he had eventually found Cornelia, bleeding from a wound at her side.

They had ultimately won the battle, at a high cost. Darlton's life had been lost, even Cornelia had not escaped unscathed, and he too had been injured as he brought an unconscious Cornelia to safety.

Gilbert looked around. It was a four-poster that he lay on. Around him, white and gilted gold and windows so vast that they reached the ceiling, with velvet and silken curtains drawn back to reveal the light of the day.

He wasn't sure where he was, but wherever this was, he had most probably been brought here under Cornelia's orders.

"Why did you do it?"

Cornelia's voice reached his ears. He looked up, seeing the princess standing in the doorway, arms crossed. The expression on her features seemed stern, almost angry, but yet hiding the pain that she must have felt from the injury she suffered.

"It's my duty to protect the princess."

His voice was quiet, hands resting in his lap. Even his eyes were downcast, studying the threads of the sheets which covered him.

Cornelia strode over, her boots clicking on the marble tiled floor. The door swung shut behind her, her fingers undoing the clasp of her cape and letting the stiff, white cloak drop to the ground unceremoniously.

"Did I not order you to return to me alive, Guilford?"

The princess's voice was sharp, almost accusing, hiding a bitterness that he barely managed to discern. And for once, Gilbert was at a loss for words, not knowing what he should say to his princess.

"I..."

The words faltered and died before they left his lips. Didn't know how to face the princess. Gilbert, who had never been afraid of the princess's glares and sharp tongue, for once in his life, did not know how to face her.

"Look at me, Guilford!"

Undisguised anger bubbled up in the princess's voice, masking underlying fear. In that moment, Gilbert knew the reasons for his princess's anger.

He looked up, storm grey meeting deep magenta.

For a few long moments, both were silent. Neither knew what to say, nor were they willing to say it even if they knew. She had to be strong and suppress her feelings, while he knew and did not want to be her weakness. For her sake, he had to be strong.

In his lap, hands curled into clenched fists. The slight movement drew her gaze towards his hands, hands that were calloused from the years of handling guns, piloting the Knightmare frames, and the coarse work that soldiers were sometimes subjected to. There was strength hidden in those hands, strength that Cornelia was attracted to, an attraction that she tried to deny.

"I... I am sorry, princess."

She bit her lip, then lifted her gaze, meeting his eyes evenly. There was nothing that indicated her forgiveness, but yet the anger in her amethyst gaze was gone.

"I have already lost two of my siblings, Gilbert. And another to his own madness."

Storm grey eyes widened slightly at the use of his name. The rest of the sentence hung in the air, unsaid, but it explained the princess's mood, her anger, her fear. He watched as the princess slowly sank down on the edge of the bed, a hand fisting in the sheets.

Arms slipped around her, gentle and strong, holding her close. Tears slipped down her cheek as the princess mourned her lost siblings, the casualties of a senseless war. It was only behind locked and bolted doors that Cornelia allowed herself the luxury of emotions. It was only in her knight's strong arms that she finally cried, Gilbert holding her quietly.

Moments passed in silence, broken only by soft, muffled sobs and gentle, comforting murmurs. Fingers gently threaded through her hair, the feel of his rough, calloused palm somewhat reassuring. He was her pillar of strength, he was always there no matter what, a steadfast rock against the harsh, ever-changing tides.

"Zero will pay."

Cornelia's voice was a whisper, her head resting against Gilbert's heavily bandaged chest, eyes closed. She knew that her knight's arms were around her, a protective circle in which she lay in, curled up close to his warmth, barely noticing as he drew the sheets over her.

He knew the words that she did not need to say.


End file.
